Recommended Read: I'll Drink to That by Betty Halbreich

I love a sardonic wit. 86 year-old Betty Halbreich is the personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman. A position she's held for 39 years. (She's featured in the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's, which apart from Betty, is somewhat of a bore.) Part biography, part style guide, she discusses her privileged life and how she landed at Bergdorf's. Many rich and famous people have visited her dressing room, including Candice Bergen and the late Joan Rivers. She has even helped studios outfit their actors for shows, in particular she helped Patricia Field dress the women on Sex and the City.


She may appear proper, but she's not afraid to tell it like it is. In fact, that is what attracts customers (repeat customers value that quality too). And that is what attracted this reader to her book. She's not only honest about her successes, but also her failures in life, and quite eloquently to boot.

Halbreich says "As soon as I get home, I undress, brush my clothes, put them on the proper hangers, and give them an airing before they return to the closet- which, containing a lifetime of garments, is a Narnian portal to times and place that no longer exist." She is a relic, not because of age, but because of her habits, which is oddly refreshing.

I'll Drink to That by Betty Halbreich